The present invention relates to a pivotal support for mounting an electric trolling motor on a boat and, more particularly, to an improved handle construction for the operating cord used to facilitate manual pivotal movement of the motor on the support apparatus.
Small electric trolling motors are well known and have long been used to provide slow speed movement and maneuverability for various types of small watercraft. In most cases, the boat or other watercraft utilizing an electric trolling motor will have a larger internal combustion engine, such as an outboard motor, as its primary source of motive power. Thus, trolling motors are usually used only to provide slow speed action to baits or lures trolled behind the boat, to maneuver the boat into position, or to maintain the boat in position against drifting or movement in a current.
When not in use, an electric trolling motor is usually raised out of the water by pivoting it on its mount and allowing it to lie in a generally horizontal position in or on the boat. One type of electric trolling motor in common use includes a motor support apparatus mounted to the deck of the boat. A deck-mounted motor is usually attached to the forward horizontal deck and includes a specially designed pivotal support apparatus for moving the motor between its operative and stowed positions and for holding it in either of the selected positions. Examples of such support apparatus for deck-mounted motors are shown in U.S. Pat. No. 3,999,500 and 4,410,161.
In addition to the pivotal mounting mechanism, the typical electric trolling motor includes an upper control head with a steering arm or extension for the attachment of electric power or remote control wires, a lower drive unit containing the electric motor and propellor, and a tubular support interconnecting the control head and the drive unit. The tubular connector is journaled in a column housing which, in turn, is pivotally connected to the support apparatus for rotational movement of the motor between an operative position with the tubular connector disposed generally vertically and a stowed position with the tubular connector disposed generally horizontally and the motor lying atop the deck. The journaled mounting of the tubular connector in the column housing also allows axial rotation of the tube for steering the motor and linear axial movement of the tube within the column housing to provide vertical adjustment of the position of the motor/propellor unit.
In a deck-mounted trolling motor support apparatus, the motor is moved back and forth between its operative and stowed positions by manually lifting it and pivoting it between the positions. The prior art mechanisms disclosed in the above mentioned patents include pivot arms which extend between the column housing on the motor and the support apparatus base attached to the deck of the boat and the arms are constructed and positioned to provide a rotatable linkage which automatically orients the motor as it is rotated between positions. To facilitate operator movement of the motor, an operating cord is attached at one end to the motor and has a handle attached to the other end which is grasped by an operator inside the boat. The operating cord allows the operator to lower the motor into its operating position and to retract by pulling it from its operating position upwardly and rearwardly about the pivotal support apparatus when it is desired to stow the motor atop the deck.
The operating cord is generally attached to the motor near the pivotal connection between the column housing and a pivot arm. The cord must obviously be long enough to span the length of the deck when the motor is in its operative position such that the handle is readily accessible to the operator inside the boat. When the motor is retracted to its stowed position by manually pulling it upwardly and rearwardly with the operating cord, virtually the full slack length of cord will lie on the deck adjacent the operator's position inside the boat. When the motor is in either of its positions, it is desirable to have the operating cord handle located such that it is easily accessible to the operator. Further, it is desirable that the handle be secured against inadvertent movement away from the operator position as a result, for example, of rocking or bouncing movement of the boat. Indiscriminate movement of the cord and handle not only inhibits access and ease of operation, but is asthetically undesirable.
Attempts have been made to provide means for storing the slack operating cord and/or securing the operating handle, but such means and devices have been cumbersome to operate and/or of complex and unreliable operation. Thus, devices such as automatic cord retractors or cord winding mechanisms have been found to be generally too complex or unreliable.